Fear in the Shadows
by Rochwen-loves-Dutchy
Summary: I am The Shadow. Sequel to Shadow of a Doubt. Shadow's newest assignment proves to be another trying one. This time it's Kid Blink who's doubting.
1. I am The Shadow

Sequel to Shadow of a Doubt. This may end in ramblings, but I'm going to try not to let it.

Disclaimer-I only own Shadow. Cause she's cool.

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Maria was waiting on her fire escape when I arrived. She looked somehow different from when I'd seen her last. She looked older, not as ditzy, she almost looked frightening(that was, if anything scared me). I didn't even get a chance to say anything before she started talking. 

"You think I want you to find out about Kid Blink." I nodded. "Wrong." Good. I wouldn't have to soak her. "I'm looking for information about a boy who works at the racetrack. His name's Snap. He's very tall, has scruffy brown hair, and-"

"I know Snap. What's yer interest in him? Another crush?" Her face hardened, and I felt almost intimidated. She was a good deal taller than me and I had a feeling that if she caught me off gaurd she could chuck me off the fire escape.

"No. My interest isn't your business. Your business is getting me the information I need. I'm willing to pay you some ahead of time. How much you get afterward depends on what you can tell me." She handed me a handful of quarters. I stared. This was a lot for a down payment. "That's what it's worth to me. Be here tomorrow night with something good." She went back into her room, leaving me there with at least five dollars and my mind buzzing with what she'd said. I tucked the money into the small black leather bag that hung around my waist and vanished with the cool wind that rattled the metal stairs.

I am The Shadow. I'm the greatest spy to ever walk the streets of New York City. The year was 1900. I was a newsie by day, but by night I was a rumor, a legend, something people whispered about. If someone wanted my services, they just put the word out. Spot finds out everything, so he tells me when I have a job oppurtunity. People don't come to me, I go to them. If you've read the prequel to this, you'll know the detail obsession that comes with my line of work has gotten me in trouble once before. That wasn't the case this time. This time, the thing that got me in trouble was my line of work itself.

There are few times I ever recall being truly afraid. The first was when I first started out as a spy and I got caught by this older newsie. He came quite close to killing me, I think(that's from the perspective of an eleven year old, though, I might not have even been close to death). The second time was when I realized I didn't know why Kid Blink wore his eye patch. This wasn't really 'physical fear.' It was more 'emotional fear.' There's a differnce. See, in the way I currently understand the meaning of the word, I loved him, and I was so afraid that he didn't trust me, and that's why he wasn't telling me(if you want the full story, there's a ten chapter prequel to this). The final, and most recent, case of fear I experienced was when a fire escape collapsed with me on it. No, that wasn't fear. That was terror. Sheer, blinding, terror. That I have only felt once. So, as you see, it takes a lot to scare me.

The first four paragraphs of this chapter tell you how this all started. Maria was someone I had spyed for before, and I guess you could say she was the one who hooked me up with Blink(you'd have to say it in a very casual, and possibly sarcastic way though). When Spot told me she was seeking my services again, I thought she had developed another newsie sweetheart, or worse, refocused on Blink. But she hadn't. She was looking for information on a worker at the racetracks named Snap. I could tell it was important, because she wanted information the very next night. I usually don't take jobs like that, but I had no choice. After counting the money, I discovered she had given me five dollars and fifty cents in down payment. That was more than she had given me for the entire Blink investigation. There was a slight issue with this promising case though.

I knew Snap. That was a problem. That was THE problem. I knew him. More importantly, he knew me. You might recall my earlier mentioning of an older newsie who came quite close to killing me. That was Snap. Before I had become the professional I am now, he had caught my spying on him. I hadn't been wearing my costume, because I didn't have one yet. That was an issue. He knew my identity, a spy's most precious secret. Only Kid Blink and Spot knew Shadow the newsie was The Shadow, the spy. Well, them, and Snap. That was why thiswas so difficult. I would have to be more careful than ever. If he caught me again, he would reveal my secret to everyone, and there goes my career. Right out the window. But I was not about to let that happen. Or so I thought.


	2. I am In Serious Trouble

so, believe it or not, i actually have a plot for this one too! isnt that amazing! im just not sure of all the details yet...

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Fear is a difficult thing to explain, especially for me. Maybe I just don't understand it. But so far, I have established two different types of fear. Physical and Emotional. Physical Fear is when you fear for your life, or for your safety. I've established two different levels of it. One is the Dull Fear you feel when you're almost unconcious and you see the outline of the person who's just soaked you above you, and you feel this deep, dull, almost aching fear that ehy might just step on your face. That's Dull Physical Fear. The other is Blinding Fear. The sort of thing you feel when you're standing on a fire escape and you feel it lurch benaeth your feet. The sound of metal all around you and somewhere in the distance the sound of the voice of the person who means the most to you screaming your name. That's Blinding Physical Fear. Emotional Fear is when you feel something churning in your stomach and you dread the outcome. Emotional Fear is what makes you cry and makes your knees go weak and makes you feel sick when you're not and when you're not hurt at all. Emotional Fear is worse. Standing in front of my mirror the next morning and tying my black fabric belt around my waist, I felt the emotional equivilant of Blinding Physical Fear. 

"Hey Shadow, yeh commin' ta sell? We're leavin." Spot's voice echoed up the stairs and snapped me out of my trance. I took a deep breath, trying to find my voice.

"No, I've got a previous engagement." He knew what I meant.

"Alright. Be careful." He always told me that, but this time I really did need to be extra careful. If Snap caught me...I didn't even want to think about what could happen. It was broad daylight as I slipped out my window onto my fire escape. I knew there were places to hide at the tracks and in the stables. I'd be fine. That's what I kept telling myself over and over. When I got to the tracks, I slipped into the barn and crept down an empty aisle, holding my breath, knowing someone could turn and walk down it any second. After what seemed like a lifetime, I reached the stall I was headed for and crawled under the half gate. The dark horse looked over at her, ears up.

"Hey pretty girl," I whispered. It's a good thing her hearing was good(being a horse and all), cause I wasn't about to be any louder. I took a small carrot from my pocket and fed it to her. See, before Snap caught me, we were almost friends. He'd let me go with him to the stables and see the horses. The one whose stall I was in now had always been my favorite. She was fairly small and getting older, but she was very sweet. After petting her nose for a second and listening for any footsteps, I climbed the wall up to the rafters. This may sound like quite a feat, but actually the walls were textured so that they were very easy to climb. Plus I'm just amazing. I crept to above the lounge area where I knew the stable workers gathered in the mornings to discuss anything they needed to, be it about the horses or just life in general. Sure enough, sitting there at one of the tables was Snap. He was older than I remembered(well duh, I hadn't seen him in a good five years). He was still tall, even sitting down. I knew that when he stood he would tower over the others. He had once told me that he hated it, because he had always wanted to be a jockey. His brown hair was rather long, and nothing short of a complete mess. He had dull brown, nondescript eyes, but they still scared me. At the moment, he was eating a muffin. I don't know what Maria was looking for but at least I had something: he ate a muffin for breakfast this morning. Something told me should wouldn't like that very much.

"I'm gonna go check on Jo-jo, she's been actin strange lately," Snap told the group, standing and heading out into the barn. I was right, he was much taller than all the others. I followed above him in the rafters as he headed to the stall of a beautiful young horse. She looked up as he approched and gave a soft whinny. It took everything I had to keep from saying "awwwwwww." Snap came up to her, smilling, and rubbed above her eyes. I could tell they got along well. I looked down at the gold name plate on her stall. It read "So Above This." I sat there, knowing the name was familiar. Oh! I remembered, and then her barn name made more sense. Her mother was raced as The Red Baroness, but her barn name was La Roux. Because of the funny way she hopped over jumps, she adopted the nick name of "Kang-la roux"(you know, like kangaroo, but not...). A baby kangaroo was a joey. Jo-jo. I watched carefully as Snap entered her stall and stroked her neck, then checked to make sure there was nothing wrong with her feet or legs or anything. "Well, yeh seem alright. So why'd yeh go after Fairy Tale yesterday? I thought you two were buddies." I leaned a little closer, trying to catch every word of what he said to the horse. To my horror, the rafter I was supporting myself on creaked as I shifted my weight. Snap looked up, but his gaze was slightly to the left of me(my left, his right). Even so, I shrank back into the shadows and tried to make myself as small, silent, and discreet as possible. He turned back to the horse and whispered something in her ear.

The only time I've left in the middle of a case was the night Kid Blink had hit his head on a table at Medda's and I went back with him to the lodging house. And that had cost me. The cost wasn't in money completely, it was in the trust of my client. When I went to report to them again, it took a good deal of persuasion to get them to let me back on the case. I swore I would never leave in the middle of an investigation again. But right now, I wanted to get out of there. Snap terrifyed me, and I wanted to be as far from him as I could. Or at least out of the stables. No. I wasn't going to let myself pass up this job. It was worth way too much(and this time I mean money).

Instead I stayed in the rafters as he put on Jo-jo's halter and lead her out of the barn and out to her field. I followed for as long as I could and then watched through the open doors. That horse was pretty funny. She held her tail up higher once she got outside and started prancing around. A dapple grey horse that was already in the field, who I assumed to be Fairy Tale, called out to her and she called back. Snap looked up at her and laughed. He struggled a little to hold onto her as he opened the gate to the field, but he managed to unlatch to lock with one hand while holding the fidgeting horse with the other. As soon as he unclipped the lead line he held, the reddish brown horse took off up the slope of the field with her tail held high, the grey one joining her. Snap relocked the gate and turned to face the barn. I felt my stomach lurch. He wasn't just looking at the barn. He was looking straight at me. No, he wasn't staring at me, please no. But there was no denying it. His eyes were boring a hole in me. I had to run. I slipped back and began moving across the rafters as quickly as possible without making too much noise. I could hear him walking down the aisle. I wasn't going to be able to get out of the barn. Instead, I veered to the left and climbed down into the stall I had climbed up earlier. The horse glanced at me, then looked back at the doorway. I was crouched in the back corner of the stall, but between her ears I could see Snap standing there. He opened the gate and gently passed the horse. I tried to slip past him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

"Well, if it isn't The Shadow."

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wow, this is developing nicely. sorry about all the horsey stuff there, got a bit carried away. 


	3. I am Not a Damsel in Distress

i have no authors note to put here. its a rare occasion, dont expect any more of it.

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I am The Shadow, I am afraid of nothing. Almost convinced me. Let me try again. I am The Shadow! I am afraid of nothing! Still not working. I am THE Shadow. I am afraid of NOTHING. Nope, still no effect. I AM THE SHADOW, I AM AFRAID OF NOTHING. Try asI did, I could not convince myself that I wasn't afraid of Snap as he towered over me. I would have pulled my wrist from his grasp, I would have made a witty comment, I would have screamed like a little girl and run away, but I couldn't. I couldn't move. This was very close to Blinding Physical Fear. Fortunately, it wasn't quite there yet, some I still had some brain function. Some. Not much. I didn't know what to do. Snap was at least a foot and a halftaller than me, and was using that to his advantage. 

"Hey dere Shadow. What're yeh doin hangin around da races?" I had a comeback for this, I really did. But that darn horse, she stole the oppurtunity.(when saying those last two scentences out loud, insert as much sarcasm as is humanly possible) The horse whose stall we were in suddenly realized that Snap had left her gate open. So, she did what any horse would do. She walked right on out and started trotting down the aisle. Snap turned and tried to grab her, but he couldn't without letting go of me. He cursed under his breath. He quickly took the lead rope that was in his left hand, tied may hands behind my back, and tied the other end to a beam in the wall. "If yer not here when I get back, you'll be sorry. Cause I'll find you again." He turned and ran after the horse. I racked my brain, trying to find some sort of loop hole in what he'd just said. There wasn't one. It was quite simple. If I left now, he'd kill me later. If I stayed, he'd kill me now. It was pretty tough. I started working at the knots with my fingers, but it was no good. The only thing I managed to do was step through my arms so that my hands were tied in front of me instead of behind me. I was biting at the rope in desperation when I heard footsteps approching. I knew it wasn't Snap for two reasons. The first, and more obvious one, was that it was only a person's feet. Snap would be leading the horse when he came back. Second, by listening, I could tell the person was walking with a fairly heavy limp. I turned to see a boy of about my age, maybe a year older, approching. He had two different colored eyes, but it wasn't terribly noticeable. One was blue-ish green and the other was greenish-blue, so they were almost the same, but not quite. The reason I noticed was because I caught his eyes as soon as he saw me, trying to warn him. Apparently he didn't catch my drift.

"My god, what happened?" He hurried in, limping on his left leg. He was pretty small, hardly as tall as I was.

"It doesn't matter. If you help me, you'll be in danger. Trust me, I can handle this, it's what I do." I was almost begging, but he just gave me a glare.

"Sorry, dat ain't how I work." He pulled a pocket knife from his pocket(that's sort of redundant, isn't it?) and went to cut the lead rope. "Dis is a barn lead line, I can't cut it." I rolled my eyes, but I don't think he saw, as I was wearing my mask. He replaced the knife and set to work untieing Snap's tight knots.

"Look, I'm serious. I'm no damsel in distress, I can handle this, alright?" He was about to say something, but I cut him off with a gasp. More footsteps were approching. They were quick and meaningful, and worst of all, accompanied by hoofbeats. Snap reentered the stall, but didn't turn to look at me until he had tied the horse to a support so she wouldn't walk out again. He also closed the gate. Then he turned.

"Gimp. What da hell're yeh doin here?" The sandy haired boy turned away from the knots and faced Snap.

"Well gee Snap, yeh got a goil tied up in heah, an nobody was wid her, so I thought I'd, yeh know, make use a her," he said with a shrug. I could have kicked him right then and there. I hate womanizing fools like this kid. I don't care if he was trying to help me, if he's going to talk about me like that, I was going to kick him in a place where guys take offense. However, Snap beat me to it. With a few strides, he crossed the large stall and punched the other boy to the ground. Apparently, he wasn't as tough as he talked, cause he just layed there.

"Tryin ta escape are yeh? Thought yeh'd get him ta help?" I suddenly wasn't afraid at all. I hadn't gotten to kick my attempted rescuer, so I had some anger built up.

"If I wanted to escape, I wouldn't need his help." I spit on the ground near the boy's face. I have to admit, I felt sort of bad about that. He wasn't that bad...for a womanizing loser. "But I ain't trying to escape. Cause there's nothing you can do to me that's any worse thanwhat you did five years ago. And I lived through that. Besides, I'm stronger and smarter now." I spit at his feet, which was an extremely bold(or crazy) stunt for someone who was tied to a wall support.

"Yeah, but so am I." He drew back and punched at where my face would have been if I hadn't ducked. "Coward."

"No, a coward is someone who doesn't fight back," I growled as I swung a foot out and tripped him. It was at this point that an unexpected factor entered the equation. The falling of Snap spooked the horse, who reared up, pulling the rope and support clean out of the wall. Her foot came close to landing on Snap's hand, but he rolled out of the way.

"Yer a gonner Shadow. Yer gonna be sorry fer tellin Lilly all those things." That was who had hired me five years ago to spy on Snap. His sister, Lilly. She had gotten so mad at him after my first report that she had moved out of their apartment and went to work ata factory. However, she still wanted information. That was when he had caught me. Back on his feet, he kicked me in the stomach. I would have doubled over, but I was already crouched down and my hands were tied to a beam above my head. I tried to drop to my knees, but instead found myself dangling by my wrists. "If yer not a coward, stand up an fight." Her grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me to my feet. There was nothing I could do when he swung at my face a second time. I just took the hit. ThenI did the only thing I could think to do. I buried my foot in the sawdust and without warning, kicked it up into the horse's face. She spooked and would have run into Snap if he hadn't dropped me and moved. I glanced down at the boy who still lay on the floor and noticed her was no longer in the center of the stall, but against the wall. When had that happened? Didn't matter, Snap was coming at me again. I kicked again, this time directing the sawdust into his eyes. He staggered back wards, but the horse spooked again. I regretted what I had to do, but I grabbed the beam, pulled myself up, and kicked her with both feet in the rump. She charged forward, knocking Snap down. He lay still for a half second and then rolled out under the gate. He knew I was just as screwed now. I was tied up in a stall with an insane horse. To make things better, he took a lead rope and started swinging it at her legs. That, plus the one that was dangling from her halter, drove her into pretty much a frenzy. She started kicking her back legs out. On the third mick, her left hind leg connected with my right leg. I fell down, all my weight again supported by my wrists. She was circling the stall, and came too close to the wall, slamming me into it. This wasn't quite as bad as the collapsing fire escpe, but it still hurt. Plus, it was completely hopeless. I closed my eyes and tried to put myself somewhere else. Despite the sound of frantic hootbeats and flying sawdust, I tried to imagine myself in Kid Blink's arms, sitting on a park bench somewhere, watching the sunset or something. Then, strangely enough, I did feel arms around me. I didn't want to open my eyes, but I felt an arm around my waist. Then the pressure in my wrists was gone. Someone lifted me and put my arms, which were still tied together, around their neck. Then they lifted me off my feet and started walking. It wasn't until I heard the sound of the footsteps change that I dared to even breath. When the sound changed, it meant whoever was carrying me had stepped off of the cement floors of the stable and onto the dirt path that lead up to it. Eyes still closed, I gathered some facts. Whoever was holding me had very strong arms, I could feel them around my back and under my knees. The thing that really got me was they were walking with a heavy limp. I opened my eyes, but I saw nothing.

"Oh no," I breathed, "I'm blind." I heard stifled laughter.

"No yeh ain't. Yer mask fell over yer eyes." Whoever was carrying me stopped and set me on my feet. They reached up and adjusted my mask. I could see again. Pardon me for making assumptions. I was staring into two slightly different colored eyes. "Hiya." He lifted my arms back over his head and removed his kinfe from his pocket. He cut through the lead rope so my hands were free again. I twisted them around, my wrists popping and quite sore, but it felt good. I pulled my mask off, my face was sore. "Yer leg ok?" I looked down at my right leg and noticed that halfway between my knee and my ankle there was a hole torn in my black pants. Through it, a bruise was already developing.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I looked back at him. "Not to be rude or anything, but who are you?"

"Name's Quick Draw." He spun the pocket knife in his hand. "Well, it used ta be. Now I'm mostly just 'Gimp.'" I tilted my head slightly.

"Why?"

"How bout I tell yeh while we walk mack ta where ever it is yeh live?"

"Manhattan newsboys lodging house." He nodded and started forward. I went to follow, but my right leg wasn't interested in supporting any weight.

"Heah, lemme help yeh." He put his left arm around my waist and pulled my righst arm over his shoulders. "So, yeh wanna know why deh change a name?" I nodded. "I used ta be a great stable hand. I was trainin ta be a jockey an all. Well, I was ridin dis crazy mare, Red Baroness, bout a year er so ago. Well, somethin scared er an she took off across da warm up ring. We were approchin da fence, an I was all set fer her ta jump it, but at da last second, she changed er mind. I went flyin over da fence, my foot still caught in da stirrup. I managed ta keep my head from hittin da ground too hard, but I broke my leg, an it never healed right. I ain't rich, I couldn't pay fer good doctors er nothin. So I just got it wrapped up an stayed on bed rest fer a couple months. I came back an everyone seemed ta forget who I was before. No one called me Quick Draw anymore, an no one asked me ta do anythin. I don think they wanted me ta do anythin." He was staring straight at the ground as he stopped talking.

"I'm sorry."

"Who're you, by da way?" he asked after a minute.

"Shadow." I didn't even think that I shouldn't use my real name. Maybe that's what caused the issue. I don't know. As we got closer to the lodging house, Kid Blink came around a corner with Mush and Racetrack, laughing at something or other. We ran right into them.

"Hey, watch it-Shadow!" Blink dropped his papers. I removed my arm from Quick Draw's shoulders and fell into Blink's arms. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Can you just take me back to the lodging house?"

"Of course." He lifted me up, Mush picking up the papers he had dropped. "By da way, who's this?"

"That's Quick Draw." Blink gave him a polite nod, but I couldn't help but notice a slight glare in his eyes.

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i made my plot work! thats right, its working! be proud! long chapter, cause im cool. rock on.


	4. I am The Gaurdian of a Muffin

it's ok, im a ninja.

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There was something about Quick Draw that fascinated me, and I don't know what it was. It actually really bothered me that I couldn't figure it out. I do have an idea though. Because of the fact that his eyes were slightly different colors, whenever I looked at him I felt like I was looking at two different people. Or maybe two sides of him. In one eye, I could see who he used to be. A fearless jockey-in-training that everyone respected and asked for help from. In the other eye was just another barn worker who walked with a limp that people didn't seem to want to bother. Quick Draw and Gimp. It was almost painful to know that he still wanted to do so much, but that no one thought he could. No one wanted to hurt him anymore. It was more than a broken leg, and I knew it. Cause when I looked into his eyes when we talked about the horses, I could tell he was broken hearted too. 

Kid Blink insisted that I stay off my leg for at least one day before doing anything. The issue was, I needed to report to Maria. So, that night, despite Blink's begging me to stay in, and Quick Draw agreeing with him, I climbed out the window onto the fire escape. I ignored all protests and limped down the allies. It was somewhat difficult getting up Maria's fire escape, but I managed(cause I'm just talented like that). She was waiting for me.

"What do you know? And what happened to you?" She scanned me with cold eyes.

"What happened to me is he caught me. He and I have some...history, but it's nothing to worry about. I'm still on the job, don't worry. So far I know he's especially fond of a horse called So Above This. Foaled by Red Baroness and some other horse. He seems real attached to her."

"That's all?" I would have kicked her, but my leg hurt. Hey, I still had to kick Quick Draw. I had forgotten about that.

"I've had a bit of a difficult day. I'll have more tomorrow."

"I actually have a previous engagement tomorrow night, don't bother showing up. The next night. And here." She handed me two dollars. "I'll see you two nights from now." Without waiting for me to reply(which I wasn't going to anyway) she went back inside. So, I got two dollars andall I had to do was get the crap beaten out of me. Sounds good. On the way home, I bought a muffin. It was really good. As I reentered the Manhattan lodging house, the smell of it's buttery goodness must have carried, cause Boots and Snipeshooter appeared out of nowhere.

"Can we have some muffin?" Awwwww, they were so cute. Well no, not really, but I gave them a little anyway. I know I sound stingy, but hey, this was my hard earned pastry.

"Everything work out alright?" Blink asked as I came back in and collapsed on the bed that had become mine. He laid down his hand of cards and walked over to sit next to me. Racetrack, Mush, Jack, and Quick Draw looked up with little interest.

"Yes, everything's fine, go back to your game." He ignored me and kissed me on the cheek instead. I pushed him away, because even though he was kissing my cheek, he was eyeing the delectable half eaten baked good I held in my hand.

"Nah, I had a bad hand. Besides, I know how much you want to share your muffin with me, and I wouldn't want to deny you the pleasure of doing so."

"Ha. My muffin. Go away. Back to your little card game." The other guys looked up.

"Yeh insultin our poker game dere Shadow?" Racetrack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You know it."

"You know what the punishment is for that, dontcha?" I shook my head. Him and Mush were still getting back at me for flipping them off all that time ago. Gosh, guys. "Tell her Mush."

"Well," Mush began in a mock serious tone, "law number 23 set down by the first newsies ever says that if you insult a poker game you must give to the poker players any and allfreshly baked muffins you may have on your person at the time." He and Racetrack stood, followed by Jack, and then Quick Draw as he caught on to the joke. I attempted to stuff the rest of the muffin into my mouth, but Blink grabbed my wrist. That seemed to be the signal for the other four to charge forward. Yelling like four year olds who had just started a wooden sword war, they ran at me and dove onto the bed. I clutched the precious pastry to my chest as I squealed and laughed with the rest of them. I thought I might save it until someone started tickling me. I am so ridiculously ticklish. I started screaming really loud, cause that's what I do when someone tickles me. It was only then that someone managed to grab at the muffin and pull away a handleful of crumbling goodness.

"We beat her!" Jack yells, holding a victorious fistful of muffin in the air. I regained my breath and got up. I was shocked to see that when I had wiggled off the bed and fallen into someone's lap, it was Quick Draw's. I had, for some reason, just assumed it was Blink.

"How'd you know I was ticklish?" I asked, helping him up.

"All goils are. Figured dat out with me sister. Yer a bit worse dough." I laughed and distributed the muffin taht remained in my hand to the other guys. See, I wasn't that mean. Blink put an arm around my waist as I held out some muffin for him. Instead of taking it, he grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to his mouth.

"You know yeh wanna feed me."

"What do I look like? Yer mother?" I crumbled the pastry and threw it in his face. He shook muffin out of his hair and then gave me the most horrified look ever. His mouth was half open and his bottom lip was quivering(it was atually quite adorable). "What?" He was looking at me like I'd just stepped on a puppy whilelaughing maliciously or something.

"Shadow, you just wasted muffin that I could have eaten." I pushed him away and everyone laughed. I've said it before. I love these guys. All of them. Don't know what I'd do without them, probably train carrier pidgeons or somehting. Then again, that could be fun...

"Hey Race, what time is it?" Mush asked very suddenly. That was quite impressive, seeing as normally he doesn't get distracted from other things very easily. Racetrack looked at his pocket watch and then grabbed his vest.

"Eight thirty, we'd better get goin." He, Mush, Blink, Jack, and most of the others had somehow gotten tickets to a very special show at Irving Hall. Medda had some other famous celebrity friend visiting and had only sold a certain amount of tickets. How the guys got them, I'm not exactly sure.

"You gonna be alright if we leave yeh here alone?" Blink asked as he was walking out the door.

"No, not at all. I'll go insane if I'm not in your prsence and start running into walls until I knock myself out." Blink just laughed. "Besides, Quick Draw's still here. He'll kill any werewolves or anything that break in and try to kidnap me. Right?"

"Sorry, I don do werewolves, but if it's anythin else, I got it covered." Blink nodded and followed the other guys, but still I couldn't help but notice a slight hesitation and a glance at Quick Draw.

"You know," I said, turning to him after the guys were gone, "I wondered something. You have really strong arms and seem pretty tough. How did Snap manage to knock you down with one hit?" Quick Draw smiled and put his feet up on the poker table.

"He didn, it was an act. I knew Pidg would spazz if anythin happened, an I wanted ta be concious fer it.Dat's da horse's name," he added, as I'm sure I looked quite confused, "Pidgeon. Used ta be a decent racer, but she's old."

"I know. I have another question." He raised his eyebrows. "When Snap asked why you were there, you said something terribly rude, I can't remember what exactly."

"Yeah, an yeh spit at me fer it. What was I supposed ta say. 'Well, I saw her tied up and was pretty sure ya were gonna hurt her, so I decided ta be heroic'? Da alternative was rude, yes, but it worked better. Plus, it kept him from soakin me worse. I'll fight if I have teh, but I don' go invitin it. Any other questions?"

"No, that's good for now." I gathered the cards that had been left and dealt them out so we could start a game of poker. Maybe he was being nice, I don't know, but I won every time.


	5. I am Going Under Cover

ok, so yeah. im updating. romantic scene, yes, cause im a hopeless romantic like that. somewhat borrowed from confessions of a teenage drama queen. in that same style anyway.

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The conversation you are about to read took place at approximately midnight. It is necesary to read it exactly as it is, and not look any deeper into it. Very necesary. If you read deeper into it, you will see why this story is taking place. That was quite paradoxical, wasn't it? Well, it'll make sense shortly. I hope. Quick Draw and I had gotten tired of playing cards and were now throwing them lazily at each other while talking about horses and races and Snap. 

"So yeh still gonna be spyin on him?" he asked as he flicked a card into his hat.

"I have no choice. That's my job." I threw a card straight up in the air and caught it in my mouth. "I bus bom mow how poo boo ib moa."

"What?" I took the card out of my mouth.

"I just don't know how to do it now. I don't want him to catch me again." I shuddered at the thought.

"Ain't dere a way yeh can be in da stables an have 'im not recognize yeh? Like, go under covah er somethin'?"

"I could do that. I've always wanted to go under cover. Pretend to be someone else and all. But who? They wouldn't believe that I was a jockey or a stable hand, I don't know hardly anything about horses. And I'd have to get a wig or something too."

"Dere's a shop near da races dat sells wigs. Yeh should get a real long blonde one. Dey have one dat's been in da window fer a long time. Ya'd look real funny as a blonde." I threw a card at him, but I had to laugh, mentally picturing myself with long blonde hair.

"Ooooo, and I could wear a fancy dress too! And makeup, and a hat! And talk with a southern accent! I can do that you know." He raised his eyebrows and gave an impressed nod. "I'll talk to Jack, and Dave if he's with them, Sarah can probably help me. All I need is a reason to be there..." We both sat in silence for awhile.

"Dis is gonna sound awkward, but a lot a times, some a da guys'll bring deir goils ta see da horses an all..."

"But Blink would be out of place there. Unless...I could go as your girlfriend." He shrugged. "Would you let me do that?"

"Sure, why not? I guess I'm stayin heah tanight anyway, so I'll go wid yeh ta see dis Sarah, an we'll stop at da wig place on da way ta da tracks." I nodded. Under cover. Sweet. So, when the guys got back from Medda's, I immediatly got Jack's attention.

"Hey Jack! Can I borrow your girlfriend tomorrow?" Everyone who had heard me looked at me, utterly puzzled. "I need to...dress myself up tomorrow, and thought she could help me, as she's far more girly than myself."

"She's working in the afternoon, but she can probably help you in the morning," Dave said, walking over.

"Alright. Tell her I'll be there first thing." Dave nodded and said good night to the guys. Probably past his bed time. I'm not sure why, but he's always seemed like quite a pansy to me. Maybe because he'd never been an assignment, so I didn't really know anything about him. Blink came up from behind and put his arms around my neck. I grabbed them and kissed his cheek as he lowered his head to rest on my shoulder.

"How did you survive without me?"

"It was oh so terribly difficult." He smiled, burrowed his face into my hair, and inhaled deeply.

"You smell like horses."

"Go figure."

"But that's ok. You still smell good." I had to laugh as I pulled him down into the chair next to mine.

"I'm so reassured. Can you wake me up tomorrow when you guys are getting ready to leave? I have something I need to take care of."

"Only if you tell me what."

"I have to go see Sarah." He raised his eyebrows. It had an interesting effect, because his eye patch moved like a centimeter, and if you were looking hard enough, you could see a bit of the scar it hid. But only if you really looked. I did, cause that's the kind of thing I do. "She's going to make me look like a girl. Under cover work." He still looked confused. "Just smile and nod Blinky, smile and nod." I put a hand on top of his head and moved it up and down. His hair was nicely textured. I can't really describe how it felt, but it was nice. Not soft, but not stiff and nasty or anything. "I like your hair." He almost laughed.

"I like yours too." He twisted some of my hair around his fingers.

"I like your laugh." And I did. I hope no one was listening in on this conversation, cause it was terribly sappy. Quick Draw had turned his attention to a conversation with Race and Mush and Bumlets. Good. Dave left. Even better. Just kidding, sorry Dave. And Jack was laying on his bed, writing what I assumed to be a letter to Sarah. He'd probably give it to me to give to her tomorrow.

"I like the way your eyes sparkle when you smile." He pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"I like the way you hold my hand." Again, I did. I took his hand and let him play with my fingers.

"I like the way you fit on my lap." He wrapped his arms around my waist and I slid onto his lap.

"I like the way you figure out ways to get me closer to you." We both laughed.

"I like your kiss."

"Thought you were never going to say it." I smiled and kissed him. That raised an 'ooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo' from the entire room, like always. Especially Race and Mush. They always did that, and I always reacted the same way. I flipped them off. And, like always, that meant the entire bunk room was laughing by the time Blink leaned back, still oblivious to this game. "Well, if you gentlemen don't mind," I said, standing up and walking over to my bed, holding onto Blink's hand for as long as I could, "I'm going to bed. If any of you even think about getting near me while I'm asleep, I'll kill you." I climbed into the only empty top bunk. There were a few empty bottom ones, cause everybody wanted to sleep on the top. I had a reason for it. I was going to sleep in a room full of guys who had just gotten back from a show of a nature I didn't know. I'd like to think Blink would stop them from anything funny, but you never know, he might very well be one of them. I also didn't know how much any given newsie had had to drink. It was best to just stay as far as possible from all of them while in the delicate stage of unconciousness known as sleep. Plus, I'd wake up if I felt the bunk move at all, I'm a very light sleeper. And the next day my first under cover day would begin. I should have gotten more sleep that night...


	6. I am Wearing a Dress

this chapter was fun. very fun. i think the next ones going to be fun too...  
Disclaimer: not mine

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I woke up as my bed jerked. If one of those drunken fools was trying to get anywhere near me...oh, no, they were getting up. Specs had just pushed Dutchy against the bed. Boys will be boys. So, I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. For a long time. A very long time. I found shapes in the paint, and then they started to bother me cause I couldn't look up without seeing them. Those fools that insisted on being so terribly loud so terribly early in the morning. I finally took my pillow and chucked it over the side of my bed at whoever might happen to be walking by. 

"Hey! Yeh mind?" Blink's voice called. The bunk started shaking and he appeared over the edge of my top bed. "Morning. Why're yeh throwin pillows at me?" He swung the pillow onto my stomach, and I grunted and pushed his forehead. I was attempting to push him off of the bunk, but it didn't work.

"I wasn't throwing it at you. I was throwing it at anyone who might have walked under it. You guys have far too much energy in the mornings."

"My apologies. Well, yeh told me ta wake yeh, so I'm wakin yeh." He kissed me on the cheek.

"Many thanks." I sat up and stretched, completely unaware of what adventures may unfold that day. When most of the guys were gone, I went into the washroom and washed my face. I wasn't exactly sure what I should wear. "Hey Quick Draw," I called across the room, "what should I wear?" In a normal situation, this is a rather dangerous question to ask a teenage guy.

"I dunno. I thought Sarah was gonaa give yeh somethin." I shrugged.

"Hope so." So, I slung a bag over my should and headed out in the pants and faded green shirt I had slept in. When we arrived at David's apartment, he was just leaving. "Sarah home?"

"Yeah, she's waiting for you." He nodded at Quick Draw, who returned the gesture, and we headed in. Sarah was indeed sitting at the table, waiting for us.

"Good morning. You're...Shadow?"

"Yeah." I shook her hand, resisting the instinct to spit in it first. I had to act like a lady. "And this is Quick Draw." He took her hand and kissed it gently.

"Pleasure ta meet yeh." Sarah smiled.

"Well, come on," she took my wrist and pulled me toward her room, "We've got a lot of work to do. Quick Draw, you can come too if you want, or stay out here." He opted to follow us. Now, I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I didn't exactly know Sarah very well and had no idea what she was going to do to me. The first thing she did was open her closet and start looking through dresses. I cringed. I wasn't crazy about the idea of wearing a dress. They restricted movement. She pulled out a rather lacey, long sleeved, pale blue dress. I had to admit, it wasn't as horrid looking as I had anticipated. I took it from her and went into the other room to change.

As I carefully buttoned the tiny buttons that went up the sides, I glanced at myself in the mirror. The soft blue fabric lay right against my skin, hugging my other wise not too noticeable curves. The sleeves didn't actually go all the way down, they fell just below my elbows. I still had my black leather boots on underneath, but as long as I wasn't holding up the flowing skirt, they were covered. I put my other clothes in my bag and headed back to where Sarah and Quick Draw were. Sarah looked over at me first, and a smile spread across her face. I think she almost laughed. Quick Draw looked up as well and had a bit of a different reaction. His eyes grew wide and swept up and down. Then his jaw kind of dropped. Guys. Sarah was about to say something, but I interrupted her.

"You'd best close your mouth and not get used to what you see right now. And never mention it to anyone. Ever." His mouth snapped shut and he smiled.

"Deal."

"Alright, sit down." Sarah gestured to an old bench that sat in front of a small table that held some make up and a large mirror. I sat. She took some brushes and containers and stuff and set to work doing heaven knows what to my face. I just sat there and did what she told me to. Close one eye. Open both eyes. Look up. Look down. Open your mouth. Finally, she stood upright and admired her work. I turned to the mirror and gave what I'm sure was a quite audible gasp. The only way I can describe what I looked like is that I looked like a doll. The ones I'd seen in shop windows, smiling out at me with their evil, never blinking eyes. Wait...maybe not that much like a doll. But I had never looked like this before, that's for sure. Sarah then started to brush my hair.

"Oh, don't worry too much about my hair, I'm gonna be wearing a wig."

"Oh?" There goes my mouth faster than my brain again.

"Can you just brush it and maybe tie it up in a low bun or something?" She nodded and set to work. When my hair was so neat I barely dared breathe for fear of messing it up, she placed a hat on top of my head.

"It goes with the dress. You have to wear it." I grumbled, but obeyed. I turned to Quick Draw, who must have found this boring, because he was staring out the window.

"Let's go, I still need to become a blonde." He turned and again I saw his eyes widen, but this time he controlled the jaw-drop reflex. We thanked Sarah, asked permission to come again tomorrow, were granted it, and left. As we were walking toward the track, I decided this would require some serious getting into character. I stood up straighter and made sure my chin was parallel with the ground. I'd spent enough time around finishing schools to know how proper ladies are supposed to carry themselves. "If I'm going to act like your girlfriend, you're going to have to cooperate." I put my arm through his and he stood up a little straighter. It was a bit awkward walking like htis for several reason. First, and most importantly, I was Blink's girl, and if any of the newsies saw this, they would report to him and it would spell trouble. Second, and rather minor but still existent, was that Quick Draw walked with a limp, so out striding was different, but by the time we had reached the wig shop, I had adjusted my steps so that we could walk comfortably arm in arm.

"How can I help yous?"the shop owner asked, closing the large leather book he had been flipping through.

"We need da blonde wig in da window." The owner stood and retrieved it, then helped fit it on my head and place the hat on top.

"Dat's two dollars." He was looking at Quick Draw, whose eyes widened. That was a fair amount of money, and naturally, a lady wouldn't be expected to pay. I pulled two dollars from the small bag that I carried and slipped them into his hand. He caught the idea and pretended to remove the money from his pocket. He placed it on the counter and we left.

"Yeh know, I could get used ta dis if yer gonna give me money."

"That was only because it was my wig." He smiled.

"Yeh look good as a blonde." I flipped some fake hair off my shoulder in the way I had seen love struck girls do before.

"Why thank you." Arm in arm again, we made our way into the stables.


	7. I am Bethany

wow, sorry its been so long guys. probably will be awhile before i get the next chapter up too.

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So, I'm walking into the stables, wearing a dress, make up, and a wig, my arm through one of a guy who was not my beloved Blink. So yes, this was a bit awkward. But my spy professionalism was helping me through it, and Quick Draw was making it easy. How you ask? He was doing all the talking.

"Good mornin Quick Draw, who's dis?" asked a worker withred hairas he walked by with the horse known as Pigeon.

"Dis is my goilfriend..." He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. Oh yeah, he didn't have any name to call me but Shadow. I'd have to cover this one. But I really didn't want people knowing my real name...

"Bethany. I'm Bethany." I offered my hand, and instead of shaking it like I was used to having guys do, he took it gently and kissed it. I smiled a little and made myself blush (I can do that, one of my many talents).

"Pleasure ta meet yeh. I'm-" Pigeon got bored and started dragging him down the aisle before he could say his name. I gave a real laugh as Quick Draw and I continued walking.

"His name's Carrot Top, if yeh wanted ta know." I nodded and added it to my mental list of people I should be able to identify. "So, Bethany?"

"Name of my best friend that I don't see nearly often enough anymore. I'm not giving out my real name. And if you want a cute nick name to use, you can call me Bethy, if you must." I looked up at him. He was smiling. That really annoying, superior smile a guy gets when they have something they can hold over your head.

"Oh, I must. Bethy." I was tempted to roll me eyes, but kept in mind that I was supposed to be acting like a lady. At that moment, the big challenge walked around the corner.

"Yer late Gimp," Snap practically barked as he approched. He was still mad that Quick Draw had helped Shadow escape. No, you didn't read that wrong, I said Shadow. Because I am now Bethany, and must stay in that mind set. "I had ta let out Forever Never for yeh."

"My deepest apologies," Quick Draw muttered sarcastically. Playing the role of the sweet, devoted girlfriend, I giggled a little.

"An who're you?"

"Bethany. My goilfriend," Quick Draw spoke up for me, putting his arm around my waist. Snap raised his eyebrows, scanning me from head to toe. I adjusted my skirt a little to be sure my wore leather boots weren't showing. I took a step closer to Quick Draw, trying to think how a finishing school girl would react to this.

"Whatevah," Snap mumbled, "this don't mean yer gettin out a anythin."

"Wasn't expectin to. Tony brings Laney around all da time, an he don't do anythin less."

"He don't do hardly anythin when she ain't around," Snap said to himself as he walked away. I turned to Quick Draw.

"He believes it! This is perfect!"

"Keep yer voice down, would yeh? Yer gonna blow yer cover all by yerself." I laughed and we continued down to the lounge. I'd never actually been insidethe stable hand lounge before, only seen it from above. It was just a bit dirtier than the rest of the barn, because the aisles and stalls were kept spotless. A worn couch sat at one end of the room, stuffing spilling out of a hole in one corner. Across the room there were tables and chairs and on the other ead was a door that I knew lead to a tack room. In the center of the back wall was a ladder to the hay loft and hay bales serving as chairs lined the rest of the back wall.

"Cozy," I said in my 'I don't really approve of this pigsty' voice. The boys that were playing cards at one of the tables looked up at the sound of a girl's voice.

"It's what we got. Guy's dis is Bethany, mind if I leave her heah well I go do some stuff?" The over-eager nods from the three boys assured me that they didn't mind at all. "Alright. Bethy, dis is Tony, Dizzy, an Twistah." I said the names to myself again and nodded. "I'll come an get yeh when I get a chance." He glanced at the boys at the table. "Mess wid her, an you'll be sorry." They nodded like they'd been trained to do so. He glanced at me, a bit unsure, and I gave a small nod. He kissed me on the cheek and left.

"So, ya'll playing cards?" I asked sweetly, taking a seat between Tony(who I knew had a girlfriend already) and Twister.

"Yeah, but I don think a lady like yerself would be too interested in poker," Dizzy said, pushing a strand of dull brown hair out of his face. He was quite tan and had murky green eyes that were actually quite pretty.

"I'll take a whack at it." They all shrugged, but Twister dealt me in. They gave me a hand full of rocks which was apparently what we were betting. I played carefully, asking innocent questions every once in awhile, making them think I had no idea what I was doing, but as Dizzy pushed the last of his rocks in and layed down his cards, I had to smile. He was starting to pull the pile toward him when I tapped the top of his hand with a gloved finger. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm mistaken, but does this beat you?" I lay down my cards and his jaw dropped. Royal flush. Ha. He nodded dumbly and I pulled the pile in front of me.

"Where'd da gimp find you? A pretty girl dat plays poker!"

"The gimp?"

"Oh, sorry. Quick Draw. We've all just kinda taken ta calling him Gimp since da Baroness...well, you know." They all avoided my eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe I do," I said, furrowing my eyebrows a bit. I actually was quite curioous to find out more about Quick Draw's accident. It was Tony who spoke up.

"Quick Draw used ta be one a da best stable hands around. Trainin ta be a jockey an everythin. Then one day we got a horse named The Red Baroness. He developed this obsession with her. Spent all his free time gettin her ta accept him an all, cause she was crazy an didn't like very many of us. Well pretty soon her owner asks if he'd be willing ta train her, and a course he was. So fer bout a month, things go great. She turns into a race horse and he turns into a jockey. It was the day before their first race and despite what we said about it bein unlucky and all, he took her out for a quick run around the warm up track, just ta settle both a their nerves. Natuarally, we all went out ta watch, see just how fast she was, see if she was worth betting on. So he takes off down the track and suddenly somethin goes wrong. No one's ever really figured out what it was, but somethin scared her an she went crazy. Took off outta control down the track, straight at the fence. Quick Draw braced himself ta jump, a course, but she stopped dead an inch from the fence. He flew over da fence, hisleft foot still in da stirrup. We were all shocked he didn't bust his head open, but we could hear his leg snap." I gasped audibly, and Twister lay a hand on my arm.

"You still wanna hear da rest?" My eyes, which had been quite wide, narrowed a little.

"There's more?" The three of them nodded solemly. "Please."

"Well, he screamed, an dat scared the Baroness more. She reared up, pullin him back ovah da fence. Anyone watching coulda sworn she came down right on top of him, but she didn't. Somehow, she missed. An somehow he got his foot out an grabbed da saddle. He pulled himself up an calmed her down. He tried ta lead her back, but he couldn't walk at all, cause his leg was broken. We offered ta help, pretty much insisted, but yeh gotta understand how proud he was. Didn't want anybody doin stuff for him, he's still like dat. Well, since he couldn walk, he hung his arm over da Baroness's neck an put all his weight on her all da way back ta da barn." I realized that I had at some point actually taken Twister's hand and was holding it rather tight. It was just a bit awkward, but I knew it would be even more awkward to let go in the middle of the story. "We're pretty sure his leg woulda healed fine if he'da let us carry him er somethin, but he wouldn't. He had ta do it all himself an dat's what messed him up. He was on bed rest fer a real long time, I don' even know how long, but when he came back, we were so afraid he was gonna do somethin crazy an mess himself up again an not let us help him, so we tried to keep him from doin stuff. Everyone still does that. But fer those a us who knew him well, it kills us ta see him without that confidence, but mostly, without da respect he used ta have." We were all silent for awhile.

"That's so awful."I looked down at my hand and faked shock to see it holding Twister's. I let go and made me cheeks flush.

"It ain't pity." We turned to see Snap standing in the doorway. "No one does nothin fer him outta pity. It's fear. No one likes ta admit it, but we were scared when dat happened, an nobody wants it ta happen again. An da respect? Well, he lost it. We respected him cause he did so much an cause he was such a great jockey. When he didn't do dat stuff anymore, he wasn't someone ta look up to." All four of us at the table rose at once, but it was me who got to Snap first.I would have punched him, but I was desperatly clinging to my disguise and slapped him instead.

"How dare you say that! It's not his fault he doesn't do anything! Ya'll won't let him! You think he can't do anything!" He grabbed me wrist and I found myself in an uncomfartably similar posotion.

"Don' tell me what I think, understand?" He threw my wrist down and left. I stromed back to the table and flopped violently into my seat.

"A word of advice?" I looked up at Tony. "That's Snap. Don't mess with him."

"Don't mess with him? I'd hardly call what I did messing with him. I was simply standing up for something I believe in, as one should always do."

"Yeah, but dis ain't a finishing school. Dis is Sheepshead Stables. We think differently."

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ok, there we go. yay! 


	8. I am Quite Popular

wow guys, sorry its been so long! im bad about updating in the summer. sorry!

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My name is Bethany. I am here to see my boyfriend, Quick Draw. I do not have any attitude issues. I am polite and sophisticated and know my place. I am not rude, I am not vulgar, I do not stand up and smack boys. I kept telling myself this as I sat there at the card table, mentally pouting, but it wasn't working. I was terrible at this undercover thing. I sighed. 

"Would one of you boys mind accompanying me outside? I find I have a need for a breath of fresh air." I almost laughed as Dizzy and Twister all but tripped over themselves to get up. Twister ended up victorious and offered his arm, which I politely accepted, although I would have rather kneed him in the stomach, just to blow off some steam. I actually considered it, but decided this job was more important. I pulled a frilly fan from my purse and fanned myself as we walked through the aisle of horses.

"So, if yeh don mind my askin, how do yeh know Quick Draw?" he asked casually, as I scooted away from a horse who tried to poke my dress with its nose.

"Well, I've known him since we were small. When I was about six, my family moved to Georgia. We just came back maybe two or three months ago, and I met up with him again. On could say we were sweethearts all that time ago, it was just destined to be I suppose." I gave a small swoon and fanned myself a bit more as I finished up my little story. Twister smiled a little at my theatrics. Did he know I was acting or did I just jook stupid? "And what about you? Do you have a lady friend?"

"Ha, I wish. Closest thing I had was Laney before Tony hooked up wid her. We were good friends an all, an even though I like to think otherwise, dat was all it was ever gonna be."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He shrugged and tossed his hair out of his face.

"Eh, whateva, we're still pretty good friends."

"Well that's good." He nodded and neither of us spoke until we left the aisle and stepped into the bright sun outside. I adjusted my hat a little to shade my eyes, and caught sight of Snap. He was sitting on a fence, watching the horses in the warm-up ring, smoking a cigar that he'd probably stolen. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" Twister nodded and I walked over to where Snap sat. He glanced down at me a little.

"Can I help yeh?"

"I just wanted to alopologize for my forward actions earlier. It was not my place at all. I was simply trying to stick up for someone I care about."

"Yeah, I know." He lowered his cigar. "It's jus, I dunno. I really looked up ta him, we all did, an dat just about completely shattered our image of him. It ain't dat I dislike him er nuthin."

"I see." We were both silent for awhile, watching the horses in the warm-up ring. A grey one I recognized as Fairy Tale was acting up, throwing her head around. Snap noticed me staring at her.

"How much do yeh know about horses?" I laughed in a twittery sort of way.

"Next to nothing. I know a bit about riding, but only what one of the farm boys in Georgia taught me." Wow, I was good at this making up my past off the top of my head thing. "But nothing about racing." He nodded a little.

"Well, dat grey horse yer watchin is Fairy Tale. She's still real young, an dey're just startin ta work wid her fer racin. She should be pretty good. Her sire, dat's her father, was Doubles Down. Real good horse. Don know where she got da color from. He was a real flashy bay an Take a Chance was an paint. Spotted. Real hard ta find a thouroghbred like dat, an I still have my doubts, but dey swear Fairy's pure blood."

"So what do they do if she doesn't behave enough to race?"

"Same we did wid Pidgeon. She becomes a brood mare. She'd be a good mom too." We were both silent again, watching as Fairy Tale threw her rider again.

"Do you ride?" Snap laughed a little.

"As a jockey? You kiddin? I'm way too big fer dat. I prefer ta be on eye level wid horses. I'm pretty good on da ground, but I can't find my balance in da saddle." I nodded sympathetically, as though I knew how it felt to be not too good at riding. In truth, I don't think I'd been atop a horse for more than five minutes maybe. But that was ok, I was finally getting some information on this guy.

"Bethany?" I turned to see Twister walking towards us. "It's awful dusty an stuff out heah. Do yeh wanna go back in? I kinda don want Quick Draw ta go back lookin fer yeh an not be dere." I smiled and took the arm he was offering. I waved to Snap and we headed back into the barn. I was quiet and dainty and all that jazz the whole way back, but my mind was rushing to scribble down everything I'd just heard. This under cover thing might actually pay off. We were about to re-enter the lounge when we passed Quick Draw pushing a wheel barrow.

"Could you pardon us for a moment?" I asked Twister sweetly. He nodded and went in. Quick Draw stood up and wiped sweat off his face. "Ok, just wanted to let you know that we were child hood friends. I moved to Georgia when I was 6, and then came back a couple months ago. We met up again and felt we were destined to be together."

"You make all that up just now?"

"No, it's what I told Twister earlier. I think they're actually buying this."

"Really? Well, I had a feeling you could pull it off. I gotta get back to work, gimme an hour or so an we can go fer lunch." I nodded and we both glanced in the window to see the boys inside watching us from the corner of their eyes. I kissed him on the cheek and he returned the gesture before lifting the wheel barrow again and continuing down the aisle. I heard a good deal of chair scraping from inside as I turned to join the others, and the door opened. Dizzy stood there, gesturing politely, and Twister looked like he'd just been pushed into the chair he was laying awkwardly across. There were a few other workers standing around pretending they hadn't just been racing to the door.

"Well, hello all of you," I said, my cheeks going red as I fanned myself shyly.

"Here ma'am, sit down," a blonde boy said, pulling out a chair. I was about to take his offer when the red head I recognized as Carrot Top tapped my shoulder.

"Could I have a moment?" I nodded politely and walked through the tack room door he held open for me. "So, Bethany, what is it yeh see in da gimp?"

"I beg your pardon?" This was certainly not a conversation that seemed it needed to be removed from general company. He took a step closer to me.

"What is it yeh see in him? I mean, dere are plenty of betta lookin, and stronger guys round heah." He had taken my hand and I was fanning myself with the other.

"I'm sorry, I care very much for Quick Draw, and if you don't mind, I'll be leaving-" I tried to walk away, but he held firmly to my hand.

"I do mind." He pulled me closer to him and held around my waist with his other arm. "It ain't every day a pretty girl walks around heah."

"You'll do well to leave me alone," I all but squealed, trying to pull out of his grip. I was still holding onto my disguise, or I'd have soaked him. "Get off!" I tried to yell, but he kissed me.

"Hey!" Carrot Top stepped back and turned to see Quick Draw standing in the doorway that opened to the aisle. "Back off." Apparently this red headed fool wasn't terribly bright, because he stepped closer to me and put his arm back around my waist. I took my fan and slapped him across the face with it. He raised his hand and went to smack me, but Quick Draw had crossed the room and grabbed his wrist. "Don you dare lay a hand on my goil." He punched Carrot Top across the face. Unfortunately the kid wasn't as bad as fighting as he was at thinking. I thought Quick Draw had him, but he kicked his left leg hard. Quick Draw toppled over, one hand gripping his leg in pain, but with the other hand grabbed behind Carrot Top's knee.

"What's going on in heah?" I turned to see Snap in the door that lead to the lounge. I did the only thing I could think to do. I forced tears and started crying. Snap lunged at the two on the ground and pulled them apart. "What da hell're you two doin?"

"He was kissin my goil!" Quick Draw panted, pointing accusingly.

"Who says she didn want it?" Carrot Top snapped, smirking. But his triumph was short lived, because Snap turned and punched him square in the face. In a matter of seconds, his nose was bleeding. Quick Drawlimped(much moreso than normal)over to me and put an arm over my shoulders as I peered out at the scene from between my fingers.

"You alright?" Snap asked, turning to me and flexing his fingers. I nodded. "You?" He nodded towards Quick Draw. He rubbed his leg, but nodded.

"Thank you ever so much," I said after a moment, laying a hand on his arm and kissing him on the cheek.

"No problem." He turned and left, ushering everyone else out with him. I turned to Quick Draw and sort of fell into his arms. Maybe it was an act because a few workers were still loitering about, or maybe I had actually been scared.


	9. I am Seen in a Dress

yay for more storyness!

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Alright, I admit it. I was scared. I can't even place what sort of fear it was, but it was there. And I stood there clinging to Quick Draw because he was the one who was there. I mean, seriously, the only guy who'd ever kissed me was Blink. And I'd never been cornered like that. I was dead scared. It wasn't until all the other workres had left and it was just me and Quick Draw in the tack room that he said anything. 

"What happened?" he asked quietly. I stopped the few tears that were sliding down my cheeks and wiped them on the shoulder of his shirt.

"He said he wanted to talk about something, and when we were back here, he just started hitting on me, and when I tried to scream, he kissed me." I was fighting a losing battle against tears.

"I'm gonna kill him. Dat's all dere is to it, he's dead. Shadow, I know you ain't really my goilfriend, but no one treats any a my friends like dat an gets away wid it."

"No, don't, just-" He went to take a step forward and I put a hand on his arm, but it wasn't necesary. As soon as he stepped with his left foot, his leg collapsed under him. He winced and grabbed his shin, laying on his back. I fell to me knees beside him. "Oh god, are you alright? Do you want me to go get someone?" Eyes still squeezed shut, he shook his head.

"No, no, I'm fine." He relaxed a little and let his head rest against the ground. With a shaky breath, he let his eyes open. He was scaring the crap out of me. I took his hand and squeezed it so hard I'm pretty sure there was a lacey imprint in his skin from my gloves. "Relax. Jus help me up and we'll call it a day. Yer make up's all messed up anyway." I almost laughed. I pulled him to his feet and held his left arm over my shoulders. We left through the door that leads to the aisle and left the barn.

"They won't miss you if you're gone?"

"I'll tell em my goilfriend was terribly upset an needed some comfortin, if yeh know what I mean."

"I've got half a mind to drop you."

"I was kiddin. An yeh might wanna lose da wig in case someone yeh know sees us."

"Good idea." We went into Tibby's and I set him down at a table before heading to the bathroom. I removed the blonde wig and placed it carefully in the folding case thing the shop owner had given me. With my blonde half safely stowed in my purse, I removed the hair tie and clips from my hair and let it fall down into its normal, unruly state. It was only then that I realized it would have been easier to wash my face if it was still tied back. Oh well, too late now. I washed the make up off my face, soaking most of my hair in the process. I dried off as best I could and made sure my face was back to its original appearence before returning to the restraunt.

Ok, who do you think would be the worst people to be present in Tibby's at this moment? Note that I am still wearing the dress and my hair is still mostly brushed and neat looking. Did you guess the Manhattan newsies? If you did, you're smart. If not, you're dumb, it was pretty easy to see that coming. All of them that were talking to Quick Draw fell silent as I walked over.

"Shadow?" They were all staring open mouthed, and only Blink had managed to find a voice. I smiled nervously and waved with a gloved hand. Then I realized I still had the gloves on and pulled them off and stuffed them in my purse. "You're wearing a dress."

"Why thank you Blink, I didn't know that." No one moved or seemed to even realize I'd spoken. "Look, if the damn dress is too distracting, I'll go take it off." After a few eyebrows raised, I realized what I'd said and smacked myself in the forehead. Quick Draw was sitting there trying his hardest to hold in the laughter, and was as a result shaking quiet violently. "Scratch that," I muttered and sat down. Everyone found a seat at the table, Blink next to me with his arm around my waist. Quick Draw was attempting to regain his composure.

"What's so funny?"Racetrack asked, looking at him a little strangely.

"Well, I had da same reaction, an she just about hit me." There was some scattered laughter, but then some confused looks. "I came in before all of yeh, an she was already heah." No one really seemed to believe this, but they all nodded. As everyone was placing orders for sandwhiches and stuff, Blink turned to me.

"How come yeh didn sell today?"

"I told you last night, I had a job that involved some under cover work." Blink nodded like he understood, but in his eye, I could see something. Something that looked like doubt. "Speaking of that, remind me I have to go report tonight," I whispered to him. Remember, no one else knew I was The Shadow, and I planned to keep it that way. So, we ate lunch and Blink and them went to sell the after noon edition of the paper. I helped Quick Draw up and he was walking better, so we went back to the lodging house. Kloppman gave us some ice and we headed upstairs to the bunk room.

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yeah, i know, kinda short. sorry.


	10. I am in Love

so sorry its been so long! my updates are gonna be coming slower...not this slow though...geez

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Quick Draw had an ice pack tied to his leg and was sound asleep on the empty bunk he had claimed. I had changed out of Sarah's dress and it was now hanging on my bunk. I was sitting at the top of the stairs all but holding my breath and listening to the conversation that was taking place down stairs.

"I'm tellin yeh, I shouldn'ta taken anythin by it," Mush muttered. He was talking about one of the girls he had met.

"Yeh say this every time. Jus back off fer awhile, yeh loser," Kid Blink chuckled. It sounded like he hit him with a pillow, or a stack of papers or something.

"Easy fer you ta say, you got Shadow." I had to smile to myself, but my smile faded as I heard a sigh.

"I dunno, she's been actin strange the past couple days. An this Quick Draw guy. I dunno. Maybe I', lookin too far inta this." I sat back and released the breath I had been holding. He thought...well, I don't think I have to say it, it's obvious.

"Oh come on," I heard Jack say, "I dunno what's up wid him, but it ain't dat, an you know it. She loves you." And I did. You know that, I've said it. Maybe I had to tell him. But didn't he know it? I mean, I shouldn't have to say it! Quick Draw was helping me with a case, and was slowly becoming a case himself, though it was solely for my own purposes. Oh no, did I see him as more than an acomplice? When I first hooked up with Blink, wasn't it because I had adopted him as a personal case? I didn't think of Quick Draw like that, did I? DID I? How could I be sure? I'm a teenage girl, how can I be sure what I really feel?

I decided I couldn't sit there and listen to the conversation taking place downstairs. I stood up and paced the room while thoughts flew through my brain. Was Kid Blink right to doubt me? Was this an act? Did I have any feelings at all toward Quick Draw? Didn't I love Blink?

"Are you alright?" I turned to see Quick Draw propped up on one elbow watching me. I was still for a second, then shook my head. I grabbed a chair and sat down next to him.

"No. I'm not alright, and I don't know why."

"Anything yeh wanna talk about?" I sighed. Yes, there was, but did I want to talk about it with him?

"You know this is just an assignment, right? This whole being your girlfriend thing?" He tilted his head slightly and took my hand.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm not your friend. You can tell me anything." I smiled a little.

"Thanks, but there's nothing to say. Not now anyway." He nodded and layed back down. "Your leg feeling any better?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. You sure yer up fer dis whole under cova thing, yer actin really weird."

"I know, it's just," No Shadow, you would open up to your boyfriend, not some random guy who was posing as your boyfriend you'd only met a day ago, "It's nothing, alright? I'm fine." My voice was much sharper than I meant it to be. Quick Draw looked suprised and was about to say, but I raised my eyes from him as Kid Blink and the others walked in. I stood and went over to him. "I need to talk to you." I said immediatly. I regretted that I hadn't hugged him or something first, but this was important. We walked over to a corner and sat down on someone's bed that was against the back wall.

"You alright?" he asked, pushing a strand of hair out of my face and taking my hand.

"You have to completely trust everything I'm about to say." I stared straight into his deep brown eye, half wishing I could look into the other one, and half glad that other eye was looking right at me, not allowing me to turn away, even with its gentle, loving, worried gaze.

"Of course..."

"You're worried. Get this straight, there is nothing between me and Quick Draw. Nothing. You know how I can say that without a doubt? Cause I love you. Not him, not at all, just you." Oh my gosh, I had just said it. He looked a little suprised too. "I mean, maybe it's only in the way I understand it, but in that way, I do Kid, I really do." The smallest shadow of a smile fell over his face and he pulled me into his lap. I leaned my head against his chest and he buried his face in my hair and I heard him inhale.

"I love you too," he whispered, so quiet I could hardly hear him. But I heard him.


	11. I am In Over my Head

And we're back. It's only been what, 3 years? Don't know if anybody still wants to read this, but I'm readopting it as a project. Soooo...here goes.

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Waving good bye to Blink, I slipped out the window of the Manhatten boarding house. It had been a long day, but I allowed Bethany's experiences to slip out of my mind as I secured my mask to my face. It was freeing to be The Shadow again. The Shadow didn't wear a dress, didn't have strange boys go after her. The Shadow had none of Bethany's or even Shadow's problems. She was caluculating and clever and off to report to...oh crap, I had to go talk to Maria. Promising myself that I would not let her ruin the rewarding feeling of becoming my secret self, I knocked on her window.

"What do you know?" Nice to see you too...she was still just as snappy as ever.

"He's not a jockey. Never will be. Likes to be on eye level with the horses. He has a sense of honor, sticks up for those he cares about, and the things he cares about. He has high expectations of people, especially those he respects. It takes a lot to earn his respect, and it's easy to lose." I thought that was a pretty good summary of what I'd found out, and some fairly useful information. Maria, on the other hand, was all but glaring at me.

"That's all? What use do I have for his sense of respect, his honor? Are you any good at all? You can't get me a simple newsboy, and now you can't even tell me simple information about a stablehand." She stomped her foot angrily. I wanted to laugh a little. I had given her a lot of credit for growing up since she hired me to find out about Kid, but that definitely brought down her maturity level a little.

"I'm telling you what I know. You said to find information, that's what I'm doing. I tell you whatever you want me to, but I have to know what you're looking for." Her pretty green eyes flashed up and met mine. It was like an "oh duh" alarm went off in her head.

"He has a sister," I nodded, I was ver aware of her, "awhile back, she found out some things that made her leave. I need to know those things."

"I actually have already acquired that information and for a-"

"More importantly." She cut me off and glared. I wanted nothing more than to forcefeed this girl a chill pill. "After Lilly left, a young man took her in. I need to know his name. And I need to know what happened to him." I started to speak, but again she cut me off. "Where Lilly is now doesn't matter to you. How I know he disappeared doesn' matter to you. But I know Snap had something to do with it. Now, you said you already had the information on why Lilly left." She raised eyebrows, waiting for me to speak.

"As you know, Snap works at the racetracks, has for a long time. Before Lilly left, they were living in a small apartment that they had lived in with their parents. Both parents had died, and a little while after that, Snap starts coming home later and later at night." This was all information I had learned the first time I had been hired to investigated Snap, by none other than the aforementioned Lilly. I was the reason she found these things out and the reason she left. "She finds out that he's been gambling, a lot. On horse races mostly, but also on fights between the stable hands. One night, this is the night right before Lilly left, one of the fights went bad. Everyone got involved, but especially Snap. He'd lost almost all the money he had and he didn't know what else to do. I don't know all the details, but somehow one of the kids involved was killed. It was all covered up, nobody found out about it, but all the talk among those who knew about it said it was Snap's fault. That he did it on purpose and that the fight was just a cover. Could be just rumors, but Lilly knew that. It was enough for her to leave."

I still remembered the look on Lilly's face. I still remembered Snap coing after me a few days later. Vivid moments of fear. Fear that she wouldn't believe me, would accuse me of lying, ruin everything. Fear that the story I'd heard was true and that he could kill me too.

"Thank you." Her face was completely blank. No emotion showed at all. She handed me a dollar, went inside, and shut the door without looking at me again. I tucked the dollar into my leather bag.

Now I knew there was more to the story. And I knew there was more to my misssion. In order to keep this case, I had to return to the one case I had been trying to forget about. And I had to talk to the one person I actually physically feared about the event that caused my fear of him to originate. And I had to do all this undercover while still not driving Kid Blink away. All those worries and weights on my mind that dissapeared with my identity? They came back. A lot.

I shook my head to silence them, at least for the moment, and disappeared from Maria's fire escape into the night.

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Will probably update this weekly. I don't like how long it's going to end up being, but I finally had a concrete plot in mind instead of just playing with a character i like. let me know what you think


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